Explanation of the author's statement: The chapter on what has come regarding those who deny divine decree. And Ibn 'Umar said: (By the soul of Ibn 'Umar in My hand...
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The Shaykh :"The chapter on what has come regarding those who deny divine decree" This 'ya' is strange; how did it come about?
The student: The nun was deleted...
The Shaykh : It may have come this way because it is a plural, and its original form is "munkirin" (deniers), but the nun was deleted for the sake of addition, just as the tanwin is also deleted for the sake of addition. The poet said:
"As if I am tanwin and you are addition *** So where do you see me? My dwelling is not permissible"
He says "my dwelling is not permissible," but you should say "my dwelling is not permissible." So, the nun of the dual and the nun of the sound masculine plural, when added to a noun - 'Isa ibn Salih -
The student: It is deleted
The Shaykh : It is deleted. Okay, Zayn, in it also it says:
"As if I am from the news of 'in' (if) and it is not permitted *** For anyone in grammar to precede it"
This is one person saying, why are you always delayed? He said, "As if I am from the news of 'in' (if) and it is not permitted for anyone in grammar to precede it." But the grammarians permit it to precede if it is in the genitive case, if it is a preposition and its object, it precedes. Yes, that is correct.
So then, what is the divine decree of those who deny it? Divine decree is the estimation of Allah Mighty and Majestic, the estimation of Allah the Exalted for the created things. This is the divine decree. And it, meaning the divine decree, is a hidden secret; Allah has not revealed it to anyone, not a near angel, nor a sent prophet. And we do not know the measure of Allah except when it occurs, is that not so? And it is hidden from us, whether it is from the matters that contain good or from the matters that contain evil. And we do not know it except when it occurs. For this reason, some of the scholars of knowledge said: "Indeed, the divine decree is the secret of Allah the Exalted in His creation", because it is not known.
Then know that the divine decree comes to mean the estimation and it comes to mean the estimated thing, just as creation comes to mean the act of creating and forming, and it comes to mean the created thing. For example, you say, "This is the estimation of Allah," for a person who was struck by an accident, for example, or by an illness, you say, "This is the estimation of Allah," meaning the estimated thing, i.e., what He estimated. And you say, "This is the decree of Allah," and you say, "The decree of Allah for things is prior." Yes, meaning His estimation for them, His estimation for them. This is one: the estimation. So it comes to mean the action of Allah Mighty and Majestic and to mean the object of the action of Allah Mighty and Majestic.
Second, the estimation can be accompanying the action and it can be prior to it. The one accompanying the action is that which power relates to, and the one prior is that which Allah the Exalted estimated in eternity. An example of that is this man whom Allah Mighty and Majestic created. Allah created this fetus in the womb of its mother in a prior estimation, a scientific estimation. When is it?
The student: Before creation...
The Shaykh : Before the creation of the heavens and the earth by fifty thousand years. And in it is an estimation accompanying the creation and formation. This is that which power relates to, meaning the estimation of Allah for this thing when He creates it. This is what power relates to. Belief in divine decree relates to the oneness of lordship, or to the oneness of worship, or to the oneness of the names and attributes? The most specific of its types is the oneness of lordship. And it has a relation to the oneness of the names and attributes. It has a relation to the oneness of the names and attributes, because it is from the perfection of the attributes of Allah Mighty and Majestic.
And people regarding the divine decree are in three categories: those who exaggerate in affirming it, those who exaggerate in denying it, and the middle group. And the author here spoke about its deniers, who are those who exaggerate in denying it. Those who exaggerate in affirming it affirmed the divine decree, but they denied the power of the human being and his choice and his will. And these are the Jabriyyah (determinists). The Jabriyyah said, "We believe in the decree of Allah, and Allah has decreed everything, but the human being has no power and no choice. He has no power and no choice." They say, for example, "You are now, lunch or dinner was served to you." He said, "Okay, it was served, he started to eat." By his choice or without his choice?
The student: By his choice
The Shaykh : No, they say without his choice. He eats without his choice, and he finishes eating without his choice, and he sleeps on his bed without his choice, as if he is blind and does not know what he is doing. He came to pray. He said, "You came to pray by your choice or without your choice?" He said, "Without my choice." How can there be a reward for you when you came without your choice? One committed a sin. He committed the sin by his choice or not? He said, "No, without his choice." Yes, how can there be a sin upon him? How does the poor man sin when it is forced upon him, without choice, without power, and without will?! He said, "Yes, do you deny that Allah is the Creator of everything?"
The student: No.
The Shaykh : You do not deny.[Ar-Ra'd 13:16] And your action is among the things, so Allah is the one who created it. Yes. [As-Saffat 37:96] So you have no power and no choice. And there is no doubt that this statement is false. It is refuted by the Book and the Sunnah, and by reason, and by the consensus of the Salaf. So did the Book and the Sunnah affirm for the human being power and choice or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : And what is an example of choice?[Ali 'Imran 3:152] [Al-Anfal 8:67] [At-Takwir 81:28] And in power [Al-Baqarah 2:286] [At-Taghabun 64:16] So did it affirm for the human being will and power? Did it affirm for him an action? Yes, it affirmed for him an action and it affirmed for him a deed. [An-Naml 27:88] Or not? If the verse is like this, or I do not know its wording exactly now, [Al-Ma'idah 5:8] And in it is "by what you do." So it affirmed for the human being an action and it affirmed for him a deed and it affirmed for him speech or not? [Ali 'Imran 3:167] As for the Sunnah, it likewise indicated that the human being has will and has power. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, Sahih al-Bukhari 7288 And many hadiths pass by you... Do you want such a thing? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, And many are like this.
Reason also indicates that the human being acts by choice? Yes, it indicates that the human being acts by choice or not? And it distinguishes between the voluntary action and the involuntary action. Glory be to Allah, a man is at the top of the stairs. We told him, "Rest a little." He said, "By Allah, I will go down. I have work." And he started to go down from the stairs, step by step, until he reached the bottom. Is this by choice or without choice?
The student: By choice
The Shaykh : A man, we told him, "Rest a little." He said, "I have work." We held him and buried him until he tumbled to the last step. By choice or without choice?
The student: Without choice
The Shaykh : The two actions, according to the Jabriyyah, are on the same level. And no one doubts that there is a difference between them. It was mentioned that a thief was brought to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), so he ordered his hand to be cut off. And the thief said, "Wait, O Commander of the Faithful. By Allah, I did not steal this except by the decree of Allah", is that correct?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh :"And by Allah, I did not steal this except by the decree of Allah." He said, "And we do not cut off your hand except by the decree of Allah." Is his argument valid or not? Even though the cutting off of the hand of the Commander of the Faithful involves both divine decree and the Shari'ah, whereas the thief's theft involves divine decree but not the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah does not command him to steal, but it commands us to cut off his hand. So the result is that this statement—the statement of compulsion, the statement of *jabr*, and may Allah protect us from it—is a false statement. It entails a great amount of bad opinion of Allah. It entails that Allah wrongs the servants, or does it not? Because He punishes them for something that is not within their power. It entails that Allah rewards a person without any action from him, and this is absurd, because the one who obeys did not obey by himself; rather, he was compelled to obey. So rewarding him and giving him [rewards] when he did not do it by his own choice is absurd. It entails the negation of the wisdom of Allah the Exalted in the Shari'ah, because Allah says:[Hud 11:7] If the person who does good and the person who does not do good are both the same, where is the wisdom? So it is a false statement.
The other side said, "We are the ones who have knowledge; you are ignorant, you know nothing, and you have no intellect or reasoning. Reasoning is with us: the human being is free and acts by his choice. Is the one who has urinary incontinence like the one who urinates regularly, or not? The *jabriyyah* say that they are all the same. These people said, "Absolutely, we cannot agree with you on this. Your statement is absurd and madness. The human being is free." This is the statement of those who deny divine decree. The human being is free and acts by choice: he eats by choice, drinks by choice, sleeps by choice, prays by choice, and fasts by choice, or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, hmm?
The student: And he dies by choice?
The Shaykh : No, death is not from his action. So they say all this. If that is the case, then the human being is independent in his actions; Allah has no power over them and no choice in them. Then they divided into two groups: some said that Allah knows what the servant will do and that Allah the Exalted has decreed it, and some said that Allah does not know it and does not decree it. They all agreed that Allah the Exalted did not will it and did not create it. So we have four matters: that Allah knew it, decreed it, willed it, and created it. The *qadariyyah* who deny divine decree agreed that Allah the Exalted did not will the actions of the servants and did not create them, then they differed on whether He knew them and decreed them or not. The extremists and leaders among them said that Allah did not know them and did not decree them, and they said that the matter is *unuf*, meaning newly begun, and that Allah does not know of the actions of the servants except what has occurred. He does not know what the servant intends to do, but when it occurs, He knows it, yes. The Salaf declared these people disbelievers and said they are disbelievers because they denied the comprehensiveness of the knowledge of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. But the matter of the *qadariyyah* settled on affirming knowledge and decree and negating will and creation. They said that Allah did not will the actions of the servants and did not create them, but He knew them and decreed them. Okay, if He knew them and decreed them, did they occur in accordance with His knowledge and decree, or not? If they say no, they are not believers in that. And if they say in accordance with His knowledge and decree, then they occurred...
The student: The nun was deleted...
The Shaykh : It may have come this way because it is a plural, and its original form is "munkirin" (deniers), but the nun was deleted for the sake of addition, just as the tanwin is also deleted for the sake of addition. The poet said:
"As if I am tanwin and you are addition *** So where do you see me? My dwelling is not permissible"
He says "my dwelling is not permissible," but you should say "my dwelling is not permissible." So, the nun of the dual and the nun of the sound masculine plural, when added to a noun - 'Isa ibn Salih -
The student: It is deleted
The Shaykh : It is deleted. Okay, Zayn, in it also it says:
"As if I am from the news of 'in' (if) and it is not permitted *** For anyone in grammar to precede it"
This is one person saying, why are you always delayed? He said, "As if I am from the news of 'in' (if) and it is not permitted for anyone in grammar to precede it." But the grammarians permit it to precede if it is in the genitive case, if it is a preposition and its object, it precedes. Yes, that is correct.
So then, what is the divine decree of those who deny it? Divine decree is the estimation of Allah Mighty and Majestic, the estimation of Allah the Exalted for the created things. This is the divine decree. And it, meaning the divine decree, is a hidden secret; Allah has not revealed it to anyone, not a near angel, nor a sent prophet. And we do not know the measure of Allah except when it occurs, is that not so? And it is hidden from us, whether it is from the matters that contain good or from the matters that contain evil. And we do not know it except when it occurs. For this reason, some of the scholars of knowledge said: "Indeed, the divine decree is the secret of Allah the Exalted in His creation", because it is not known.
Then know that the divine decree comes to mean the estimation and it comes to mean the estimated thing, just as creation comes to mean the act of creating and forming, and it comes to mean the created thing. For example, you say, "This is the estimation of Allah," for a person who was struck by an accident, for example, or by an illness, you say, "This is the estimation of Allah," meaning the estimated thing, i.e., what He estimated. And you say, "This is the decree of Allah," and you say, "The decree of Allah for things is prior." Yes, meaning His estimation for them, His estimation for them. This is one: the estimation. So it comes to mean the action of Allah Mighty and Majestic and to mean the object of the action of Allah Mighty and Majestic.
Second, the estimation can be accompanying the action and it can be prior to it. The one accompanying the action is that which power relates to, and the one prior is that which Allah the Exalted estimated in eternity. An example of that is this man whom Allah Mighty and Majestic created. Allah created this fetus in the womb of its mother in a prior estimation, a scientific estimation. When is it?
The student: Before creation...
The Shaykh : Before the creation of the heavens and the earth by fifty thousand years. And in it is an estimation accompanying the creation and formation. This is that which power relates to, meaning the estimation of Allah for this thing when He creates it. This is what power relates to. Belief in divine decree relates to the oneness of lordship, or to the oneness of worship, or to the oneness of the names and attributes? The most specific of its types is the oneness of lordship. And it has a relation to the oneness of the names and attributes. It has a relation to the oneness of the names and attributes, because it is from the perfection of the attributes of Allah Mighty and Majestic.
And people regarding the divine decree are in three categories: those who exaggerate in affirming it, those who exaggerate in denying it, and the middle group. And the author here spoke about its deniers, who are those who exaggerate in denying it. Those who exaggerate in affirming it affirmed the divine decree, but they denied the power of the human being and his choice and his will. And these are the Jabriyyah (determinists). The Jabriyyah said, "We believe in the decree of Allah, and Allah has decreed everything, but the human being has no power and no choice. He has no power and no choice." They say, for example, "You are now, lunch or dinner was served to you." He said, "Okay, it was served, he started to eat." By his choice or without his choice?
The student: By his choice
The Shaykh : No, they say without his choice. He eats without his choice, and he finishes eating without his choice, and he sleeps on his bed without his choice, as if he is blind and does not know what he is doing. He came to pray. He said, "You came to pray by your choice or without your choice?" He said, "Without my choice." How can there be a reward for you when you came without your choice? One committed a sin. He committed the sin by his choice or not? He said, "No, without his choice." Yes, how can there be a sin upon him? How does the poor man sin when it is forced upon him, without choice, without power, and without will?! He said, "Yes, do you deny that Allah is the Creator of everything?"
The student: No.
The Shaykh : You do not deny.
Allah is the Creator of all things
الله خالق كل شيءcreated you and that which you do?"
خلقكم وما تعملونThe student: Yes.
The Shaykh : And what is an example of choice?
Among you are some who desire this world, and among you are some who desire the Hereafter
منكم من يريد الدنيا ومنكم من يريد الآخرةSome Muslims desire the commodities of this world, but Allah desires [for you] the Hereafter
تريدون عرض الدنيا والله يريد الآخرةFor whoever wills among you to take a right course.
لمن شاء منكم أن يستقيمAllah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعهاSo fear Allah as much as you are able
فاتقوا الله ما استطعتمIndeed, He is Acquainted with that which you do.
والله خبير بما تفعلونindeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do.
إن الله خبير بما تعملونsaying with their mouths what was not in their hearts
يقولون بأفواههم ما ليس في قلوبهمAnd if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can.
إذا أمرتكم بأمر فأتوا منه ما استطعتمI swear an oath and I see something better than it, except that I am absolved from my oath and I do what is better
إن لأحلف على يمين وأرى غيرها خيرا منها إلا تحللت من يميني وأتيت الذي هو خيرReason also indicates that the human being acts by choice? Yes, it indicates that the human being acts by choice or not? And it distinguishes between the voluntary action and the involuntary action. Glory be to Allah, a man is at the top of the stairs. We told him, "Rest a little." He said, "By Allah, I will go down. I have work." And he started to go down from the stairs, step by step, until he reached the bottom. Is this by choice or without choice?
The student: By choice
The Shaykh : A man, we told him, "Rest a little." He said, "I have work." We held him and buried him until he tumbled to the last step. By choice or without choice?
The student: Without choice
The Shaykh : The two actions, according to the Jabriyyah, are on the same level. And no one doubts that there is a difference between them. It was mentioned that a thief was brought to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), so he ordered his hand to be cut off. And the thief said, "Wait, O Commander of the Faithful. By Allah, I did not steal this except by the decree of Allah", is that correct?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh :"And by Allah, I did not steal this except by the decree of Allah." He said, "And we do not cut off your hand except by the decree of Allah." Is his argument valid or not? Even though the cutting off of the hand of the Commander of the Faithful involves both divine decree and the Shari'ah, whereas the thief's theft involves divine decree but not the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah does not command him to steal, but it commands us to cut off his hand. So the result is that this statement—the statement of compulsion, the statement of *jabr*, and may Allah protect us from it—is a false statement. It entails a great amount of bad opinion of Allah. It entails that Allah wrongs the servants, or does it not? Because He punishes them for something that is not within their power. It entails that Allah rewards a person without any action from him, and this is absurd, because the one who obeys did not obey by himself; rather, he was compelled to obey. So rewarding him and giving him [rewards] when he did not do it by his own choice is absurd. It entails the negation of the wisdom of Allah the Exalted in the Shari'ah, because Allah says:
that He might test you as to which of you is best in deed
ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملاThe other side said, "We are the ones who have knowledge; you are ignorant, you know nothing, and you have no intellect or reasoning. Reasoning is with us: the human being is free and acts by his choice. Is the one who has urinary incontinence like the one who urinates regularly, or not? The *jabriyyah* say that they are all the same. These people said, "Absolutely, we cannot agree with you on this. Your statement is absurd and madness. The human being is free." This is the statement of those who deny divine decree. The human being is free and acts by choice: he eats by choice, drinks by choice, sleeps by choice, prays by choice, and fasts by choice, or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, hmm?
The student: And he dies by choice?
The Shaykh : No, death is not from his action. So they say all this. If that is the case, then the human being is independent in his actions; Allah has no power over them and no choice in them. Then they divided into two groups: some said that Allah knows what the servant will do and that Allah the Exalted has decreed it, and some said that Allah does not know it and does not decree it. They all agreed that Allah the Exalted did not will it and did not create it. So we have four matters: that Allah knew it, decreed it, willed it, and created it. The *qadariyyah* who deny divine decree agreed that Allah the Exalted did not will the actions of the servants and did not create them, then they differed on whether He knew them and decreed them or not. The extremists and leaders among them said that Allah did not know them and did not decree them, and they said that the matter is *unuf*, meaning newly begun, and that Allah does not know of the actions of the servants except what has occurred. He does not know what the servant intends to do, but when it occurs, He knows it, yes. The Salaf declared these people disbelievers and said they are disbelievers because they denied the comprehensiveness of the knowledge of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. But the matter of the *qadariyyah* settled on affirming knowledge and decree and negating will and creation. They said that Allah did not will the actions of the servants and did not create them, but He knew them and decreed them. Okay, if He knew them and decreed them, did they occur in accordance with His knowledge and decree, or not? If they say no, they are not believers in that. And if they say in accordance with His knowledge and decree, then they occurred...